The present invention relates to an apparatus for coupling a metallurgical ladle to a gas supply for the treatment of molten metal contained in the ladle. The gas is injected through the bottom of the ladle into the liquid metal. The gas is injected at a treatment station in which the ladle, is for this purpose, placed on a support.
The treatment of steel, for metallurgical requirements, by injecting a gas into the ladles containing the liquid metal is well known in the prior art. This injection is effected at a treatment station, where the gas is passed through a porous part of the ladle bottom. The porous bottom allows the gas to pass while retaining the liquid metal.
The connection to the gas supply is generally made by hand. It will be appreciated that, because of the environment, this hand connection operation entails the risk of accidents. The hand connection also constitutes a waste of time.
Semi-automatic coupling has been proposed as a method to avoid manual connection of the gas supply. In this method, a coupling head is connected through the action of a jack to one of the side suspension trunnions of the ladle. The trunnion is connected by internal passages and an external duct to the porous bricks of the ladle bottom. Because the trunnion must be specially designed for connection to this coupling head, this system cannot be applied to existing ladles. In addition, depending on the design of the treatment station, lateral access to the ladle may be difficult or even impossible.